everyonelives | for the rest of us death will be a relief

That is how everyone communicates these days over long distances. Some people are more attached to them than others, and from what I can see, the phones now are smaller and flatter. That's what they're called. Phones. We can also hire someone to give you a rundown. You'll want one.

( A pretty case to match, too. )

That should be our next stop. We won't get far without them.

[She nods, trusting her guide to point her in the right direction.]

It's amazing how much things change. The lights, the transportation, the clothes. It's like humanity never stops trying to change.

[She's not sure if that's a good or bad thing, in the end. She thinks she has to do more exploring.]

Humanity vacillates between trying to work together and trying to put one another in the ground. Progress, ultimately, moves forward.

( But that is the definition of progress.

The compelled attendant nicely keeps their purchases and directs Isobel to the nearest Apple store, which isn't helpful when you don't have providers, and then T-mobile. Much more helpful.

Phone in hand, she then does take Adrienne to the Apple store and compels her a nice seminar on Apple technology, phones, and the basics. Her helper is compelled to not blink and take into account that Adrienne is very old and was dead for some time. So, teach her like a novice.

In the meantime, Isobel realizes she only has one number memorized: Katherine's. So, she tries dialing what may be a defunct number, and someone may be by the phone so I am not talking to myself. )

[Yes, yes, that's fine. They'll say Katherine is in the shower or something. What pops up is an unknown number, and Damian answers because it might be a case.]

Hello?

[Which is not the person you were expecting, sorry Isobel.]

( She takes a second, checking the number she's dialed. It is the one she remembers. She brings the phone back to her ear, trying. )

I'm looking for Katherine.

You have come to the right place, but unfortunately she's indisposed at the moment. Can I take a message?

[He's very good at taking messages. He would have been a great secretary in another life.]

It's Isobel. She'll know who I am. And, you will want to convince her it's me. Because, despite what she believes, I'm the one calling, though not with a moonstone in my possession.

( A simple mention that might let her know it really is Isobel. )

[Moonstone? That sounds familiar. The name Isobel also rings a faint bell but that could mean a lot of things. He looks back at the phone and nods.]

Right. And she can call you back at this number?

[He knows better than to interrupt her pampering time unless he intends to do something sexy about it. This does not feel sexy.]

She should.

( That is, she has no choice in the matter. )

Right. I'll be sure to pass the message along.

[And with that he will say his goodbyes and hang up, waiting for Katherine to get out of the shower. He can't say he loves her tone, but it's not his decision to make whether or not Katherine calls her back. It's Katherine's.

Which is why when she emerges, he glances up at her with a frown.]

Do you know someone named Isobel?

( "You do that," she says, ending the call before waiting patiently for Adrienne's one-on-one Apple class to end.

Katherine emerges, drying her hair, the steam coming out of the bathroom from behind her. She was going to broach the subject of what's next and what that looks like. It feels like things have changed and the scales have tipped in their favor. How long do they keep needing to be these hunters. She's feeling her age and he clearly is, too.

But, then. That.

She moves to her phone to scan for any group text updates. No mentions of Isobel on there. And then she sees the phone in Damian's hand. She's always had the same instincts. )

She called, didn't she.

( If this is about Elena's blood, or originated from it considering she bled on Matty Blue-Blue in the liminal space -- then why wouldn't her mother be brought back, too. This feels like a complication that doesn't have to be a complication. )

Edited 2025-10-30 13:04 (UTC)

She did. Said something about a moonstone and was rather insistent that you would call her back.

[He passes the phone to her, but his gaze is curious.]

Isobel an old friend?

[He's using the term friend loosely.]

One of the vampires I trusted before Klaus got a hold of her and compelled her to kill herself. Which means, she's another name that can be added to the list. ( And she may owe Elena a call or message of her own. ) And, yes. We were actually friends. She did help me when I needed it. I liked her.

( She was a little too hedonistic for her tastes, but she never spent many days with her. Only time. )

I sent her to Mystic Falls once for a reason.

( And then didn't realize the second time her reason clashed with Klaus. )

She's also Elena's biological mother.

I'm sure that will go well with her other resurrected mother.

[Everything seems to be coming up Elena as of late, but he doesn't sound bothered by it. More amused that this is the situation she's in.]

What are you going to do?

I can feel the coparenting from here.

( Not to mention Jenna's whole thing about her. )

I don't know. Probably meet her in person. I suppose I owe Elena the heads up.

[Damian nods, before pushing up to his feet.]

Well, call her back to find out where she is. We'll figure it out from there. Depending on where she is, perhaps you can call Elena from the car. If you decide to call her.

If? Is that the morally gray bone in your body talking?

( She likes it, but she needs more. He could convince her to keep Elena off her radar completely. But, if it blows up in her face, the very little good will she's created - well, it would evaporate. )

I think it would depend on what Isobel has to say, no? If she even wants Elena to know?

[He gives a small shrug.]

Maybe it isn't your phone call to make. Maybe it's hers. It is her daughter.

Isobel is dangerous. She tracked Elena down for me and did real damage to her life in the process. The second time she came to town, she did even more. And then she ended her own life because Klaus saw fit to punish me. That last part is just color for the story, by the way. ( She brings her hands up, counting on her fingers. ) Isobel is unpredictable and unfeeling and insatiable. She turned because she couldn't stop searching for more. More than what she had. More than what she could be and once she got that. She became a bottomless pit. I used to find it useful and, occasionally, entertaining, but her being back? Brings up big question marks and bigger ones for Elena. This is more than just about her privacy, or what she wants. There's a big chance she won't even want to see Elena. But, Elena deserves to know.

[Damian takes all of that in before nodding his agreement. He doesn't know much about Isobel, so he was unaware, but he agrees, when she puts it that way.]

Then we will call Elena in the car. But you need to call Isobel first, still, and find out if not what she wants, where she is.

Fine.

( And we will put this on pause while I figure out how that conversation goes. )

[Take your time, the girls can chat while Damian gets their stuff ready to go.]

The "Fine," echoes in her mind as she holds the phone in her hand. Katherine's moved outside, for the privacy, and maybe for her own benefit. Damian knows all her squishy parts and met her with most of her dark parts intact, but there is a side to her he never saw. The ruthless vampire always ten steps ahead. The one who would betray someone at the top of a hat if they can get her the better deal.

Isobel knows her better. Not for longer, not anymore, but it felt like it, didn't it.

One final sigh and she dials the number that dialed Damian.

"He never gave his name. You've trained him well," Isobel says, having taken a seat at one of the most impractical benches in the Apple store.

"So, it's true," Katherine says, taking a few more steps away from the front door of her building. Damian can be emotional support from in the penthouse. She'll return to him after she decides what this even is. Who's calling her.

"Against all the odds and with no help from Klaus, I think," Isobel says, watching Adrienne at one of the tables.

"This wasn't Klaus," she affirms.

"No, I realized that." She'll get back to the person she appeared beside. Or, she won't. That's yet to be determined. "Phones are everything, now, did you know that?"

"Everything you need in one place, but can it tuck you in at night," Katherine deadpans.

"We've never had a problem finding someone who'll tuck us in at night, Katherine. Case in point, your male caller." Well, answerer, she'd correct.

"He's not up for discussion, yet." If there is a yet. She approaches the fountian, crossing the roundabout.

"Are you near water?"

Behind Isobel, someone from the Genius bar calls for the next customer.

"Are you in an Apple store?"

"Well, I can't possibly do anything without a phone, can I? That's what they'd have me believe," she says, looking back to her right. "But, I didn't call you to make technical commentary."

"It's been a long time."

"Didn't I say that?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Katherine asks, stepping a heel up on the edge of the fountain. She tests her balance as she hoists herself up completely, clacking in a circle.

"Taking Elena to the cemetery. It was Klaus."

"I know," she says, opening that old wound.

"I really would have helped you, though, not at my daughter's expense," Isobel briefly explains. "He got to me. Everything I did was because of him. No doubt his form of revenge on you, or perhaps Elena for shirking him for so long..." She doesn't know, does she. "All I know, is that I'm alive in an Apple store. And a man answered your phone."

"His name is Damian," she finally says.

"Like The Omen."

"Well, he does have a devilish side," she coos. But, she changes the subject before she can go in more detail. "Things aren't the same, Isobel."

"I gathered that, seeing as it's been over thirty years. I have questions."

"I might have answers."

"So cagey. I really did teach you well."

"I taught you, but, you didn't need the lesson, did you. You had things handled. Better than I did after I first turned," Katherine says, sweeping a foot down over the side.

"Is that a compliment?"

"Borderline," she admits.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"A lot. Are you curious about Elena?"

Isobel doesn't have an answer for that. She was the monumental disappointment. Lost all trust in her, even if she was about to betay her, and then immolated herself in front of her.

"Elena doesn't need me complicating her life right now, not when I'm just getting my bearings."

"What would you say if I told you, you weren't the most complicated part of Elena's life? That, maybe hearing from your wouldn't destroy her. Or, if you did track her down, the door might not be completely slammed in your face."

"I would ask you why you even care."

"I don't," she feigns. She steps down, sitting herself on the edge of the fountain.

"You used to be such a good liar."

"You wanted me to call you back," Katherine says.

"I thought knowing Klaus was behind what I did, maybe there'd be water under this bridge."

"There is," she replies, switching her phone to the other ear.

"So, you were calling about Elena."

"Among other things," she says. "You called, I called back. It's what we do."

"I should go," Isobel says, getting to her feet, smoothing out her new dress. "This was fun," she says into the receiver as she looks down at her phone. She ends the call. Thirty-odd years not on this Earth, she still knows Katherine better than she thinks.

"Is --" The line goes dead. Kind of like their friendship. Maybe it would still be did had Katherine told her. She's human now. No longer immortal. Her daughter did that. But, now isn't the time.

"I have a daughter," Katherine says, when Isobel answers the call she places. She's back inside, but in the lobby now. It's not a minute later. Isobel is one person who she would have wanted Nadia to meet. If things had been different. "Had", she emphasizes, "a daughter."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, when she finally found me, it ended up being too late. For more reasons than I'm going to tell you, because I don't owe you anything. It may not have been you doing it, but you sold me out to Klaus. We should have known better than to try to have you within sniffing's distance of anyone in league with him. But, I should have known better than to think you'd sell Elena out in the end. Without Klaus in your ear."

Isobel doesn't say anything.

"So, that's why. You aren't alone. There are others like you who've returned. And, as soon as I get any answers about what that means, if anything, I'll tell you. But, in the meantime, your daughter's the type to answer an unknown call." She's a doctor, she's a bleeding heart, and now she's dating a doctor. "If you want her to know you're among the ranks."

Among the ranks. She considers this.

"I didn't wake up alone. A witch named Adrienne. From the 1600's. Covered in blood. She gave me the means to leave before sundown."

"You didn't --"

"I ripped it from my neck. I was done." Free, technically. "I have new lapis and a new friend."

"Damian isn't just a friend," Katherine says. "We're together. Actually. Not like Mason."

"Mason," Isobel says, thinking back, wistful.

"Do you want --"

"--Elena's number. Sure. Maybe it will come in handy." She half shrugs, a smile peeking from behind the phone she tilts at an angle.

"There's one more thing."

"Oh, Katherine, there are an endless number of things. Thirty years, Katherine."

"Have you ever heard of the cure?"

"The myth, the legend."

"The real thing. It's a long story I won't go into because it's been thirty years, but, I'm no longer a vampire, Isobel. I'm human. I have been for a long time. About over a year after we saw each other last."

"After I sold you out to Klaus," she says. "Because?"

"No," she says behind her smirk. "The Katherine then would just be easier to find and squash. It wasn't my choice. And, if I were being honest with myself, I had it coming. I went after someone. You remember pettiness."

"Vividly."

"Alaric is remarried. He has children. He's a happy alcoholic and the head of a school. Elena's a doctor. Dating--"

"Stop." Katherine closes her mouth. "I don't have ties to these people anymore, Katherine. Don't try. You're changing the subject. And, truthfully, I don't care about why you're human. That your human. Although, I liked you as a vampire. I guess now you'll die."

"Eventually, we all will."

"We all did, didn't we."

Katherine continues to stay silent.

"If I have questions, I'll ask. But, don't push me to feel things I don't. You know who I am, Katherine. I won't try and change you if you don't," she says behind a smile. Not that it's a matter of change. She hasn't done or decided anything drastic. It's clear her emotions were on the last time Elena saw her and she has no reason to turn them off again. But, if Katherine goes deep enough, or, she won't like what either of them find.

"Fine," Katherine says, bookending her conversations today. "But, you should know, if you start getting nostalgic. I don't want to be a vampire again." She lies. Quickly, she adds, "And even if I did, it's impossible."

"Fine," Isobel repeats. "Is that all."

"That's all."

Before she hangs up, she has one more question.

"What was her name?"

"Nadia," Katherine says with her Bulgarian lilt.

"Goodbye, Katherine," she says, again. Things have been left on a different note. She holds the phone against her mouth. Smiling at her friend. There are still many unanswered questions and the question of why Katherine's pettiness led to her being cured. But, it doesn't involve Isobel and it's only curiosity that niggles at the edges of the phone call she just had. Looking down at her phone, she saves Katherine's number.

One tie.

Edited 2025-11-13 08:26 (UTC)

[By the time she finishes her phone calls, he has their things packed and by the door, ready to go. He's not sure what to make of Katherine's half of the conversation, and he was trying not to eavesdrop, but he did hear his name at certain points, so clearly he was a topic of conversation.

Still, he glances over once she comes out.]

How'd it go?

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